Passage from "Daughter of Fire" by Irina Tweedie

"It all seemed so unbelievably lovely. The sea, the moon, the beach, patches of moonlight on the white sand, fresh fragrance of the sea and of flowers, and I was experiencing in myself a curious phenomenon: I was LISTENING WITH THE HEART. Yes, it was just so; the music was reaching me through the heart. The mind was still. The heart was wide open to receive the sound, and the sound went into it. The sound was, but the mind was not there...never experienced anything like that...But if I just listened, through the heart, just listened, and no thinking was involved in it, then the heart sang with the violins, it WAS the trumpet call, it WAS the woodwinds, and I WAS THE MUSIC."

Paddles

Paddles to the heart. Clear! Try again. Paddles to the heart. Clear! Try again. What I need no one can provide; damn paddles. Distract-line up perfect moments-stacking one on top of the other until a game of jenga is at play. Then- Clear! There was no sound. No more voices with their monotone pitches announcing "Clear!" Until a thump-thump-thump reaches around the room swallowing everyone up whole; no survivors except the beating of a heart holding a weeping woman up in it's sound.